LAHORE: Ajoka Theatre presented its celebrated play ‘Marya Hoya Kutta’ at the Fight Inequality Festival held at the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) Auditorium in Lahore, where it received an overwhelming response from the audience.
The performance stood out as one of the festival’s major attractions, using satire and powerful storytelling to expose the realities of inequality, social exclusion, and the misuse of power.The production was presented by the Ajoka Institute, with the cast comprising students of its art of acting course. It marked the students’ first-ever public stage performance. The play was introduced by Nirvaan, who highlighted the significance of the occasion and congratulated the students on making their stage debut. In addition to ‘Marya Hoya Kutta’, the students also performed selected extracts from Ajoka’s acclaimed production ‘Dara’, showcasing the skills theyacquired during the course.
The cast included Amir Iqbal, Ali Shahzad, Arrahmanul Husnain, Chaudhry Muhammad, Fakharun Nisa, Hamza Waheed, Jamil Ahmed, M Fawad Tanveer, Maryam Shehbaz, Sheroo, Rimsha Nadeem, Salman Hameed and Waleed Malik. The audience applauded the play’s enduring relevance and its message of collective responsibility in addressing social injustice.
Speaking on the occasion, AjokaExecutive Director Shahid Nadeem said, ‘Marya Hoya Kutta is one of Ajoka’s evergreen plays. I wrote it during my university days, yet its central theme remains as relevant today as it was then. The problems it highlights still exist in our society.
The play reminds us that meaningful change cannot come solely from governments or outside assistance; society itself must recognise its responsibilities and become part of the solution.’-Staff Reporter